Sometimes its not a matter of thinking outside the box, its simply getting a new perspective. Here we’ve drawn from the knowledge we’ve acquired not just from extensive trout fishing around Dullstroom, but more so from the fishing and guiding we have done for the variety of species we’ve been targeting around Southern African the last couple decades. As we always say, small things make the biggest differences, and although these 5 tips may seem odd, they all add to a better day’s fishing.
TUNGSTEN BEADS
- A common question we get asked in the Dullstroom store is: ‘Do I need split shot?’ The simple answer is, no. Unlike conventional angling, the distance you can cast has nothing to do with how much weight you have on the end of your line, in fact its quite the opposite; but that’s a discussion for another day. We will however say this, if you’re fishing streamers and want to add extra weight either for depth or for movement, consider adding a small tungsten bead to your loop knot. (SBS to come.)
DEEP SOFT WEIGHT
- While we’re on the topic of ‘weight,’ lets talk about a product we’ve mentioned before – Loon’s Deep Soft Weight This is a dry fly game changer, especially at Sterkies; but works just as well for trout. All it is, is a tungsten putty we use to sink our tippet, taking the place of a degreaser. To break it down, we attach a tippet ring to the end of our 9ft leader and add 3-4 ft of tippet. We then take a very small amount of Deep Soft weight and push that into the tippet ring, thus ensuring that it can’t come off your leader while casting, and will last the day.
HOOK SHARPENER
- When we guide for largies we sharpen our hooks religiously, granted, you’re not fishing boulder gardens for trout, but a hook sharpener is a must have in our opinion regardless of the species you’re targeting. Personally, if I fish the Cape Streams I’ll sharpen my hooks before they even get wet, why, because overkill is underrated. I’ll admit, that is a bit excessive, however, if you’re fishing the Spekboom in Lydenburg or a dam in Dullies, there will inevitably come a time when you fowl hook something, and when that does happen I’d rather be the guy with the hook sharpener, than not
A PACK OF MINI TISSUES
- You know that small packet your granny (bless her) always seems to have in her handbag? That one. These aren’t for you, although they do come in handy when you’ve just lost that trout of a lifetime; but actually, they’re for you flies. CDC patterns are becoming more and more popular, and rightfully so; however, like any dry fly once it gets wet, it stops floating. There are a ton of floatants, and patches one can use here, believe us, we’ve tried them all and they definitely do work, but try this. The next time your #16 CDC Emerger is wet, dry it with a tissue, blow any excess water off, re apply your Lochsa and you’re ready to go!
AN OMNI SPOOL
- If you’re not familiar with the Omni Spool Switchbox, it’s worth checking out. This is the simplest, cheapest means of storing your spare lines, but more importantly being able to interchange lines by yourself. However, we’re not suggesting this to carry spare lines with you, we’re suggesting you have it for the day your line just does not want to cooperate. We’ve all had those day, whether it be the heat or the cold causing your line to twist and tangle, or maybe your floater isn’t floating too well – sometimes the best is just to remove your line, spool it up (maybe give it a clean and apply some line dressing) respool it and start again. All of this is made easier with an Omni Spool.